Big
Bang Theory: The Complete Eleventh Season
(2017 - 2018/Warner Blu-ray Set)/Bye
Bye Germany (2017/Film
Movement DVD)/Garden Of
Eden (1928/Flicker Alley
Blu-ray)/Good Karma
Hospital: Series Two
(2018/Acorn Blu-ray Set)/Harry
and Walter Go To New York
(1976/Columbia/Sony/Twilight Time Limited Edition Blu-ray)
Picture:
B/B-/B/B/B Sound: B-/B-/C+/B/B- Extras: C+/C+/C/C+/B-
Main Programs: C+/B/C+/B/C
PLEASE
NOTE:
The Harry
and Walter Go To New York
Blu-ray is now only available from our friends at Twilight Time, is
limited to only 3,000 copies and can be ordered from the links below.
The
next set of comedy reviews cover 80 years of comedy, including newer
productions with jokes that go back further than that...
We
start with The
Big Bang Theory: The Complete Eleventh Season
(2017 - 2018) which continues to be a big despite some fans walking
away and other starting to feel it is a show becoming long in the
tooth. At least the show has been character consistent and the
actors all have the same energy and fun, thus why it has stayed a
hit. With the launch of Young
Sheldon
(reviewed elsewhere on this site), how much longer can the main show
go on?
This
time, the big relationship question of whether Amy (Mayim Bialik) and
Sheldon (Jim Parsons) will get married, a question that plagued shows
like That
Girl
(they did not), Get
Smart
(they did and even just consummating the relationship (Moonlighting,
where the did and it had the same bad effect) so will marriage happen
then kill the fun?
Whether
or not, it was decided that the next season would be the last, so can
the makers and cast keep it going, but the self-deprecating humor,
geek, pop culture, comic book, movie, Star
Trek,
Star Wars, science and loser jokes are starting to wear thin. We get
24 half-hours this time and what happens is that old subplots that
were not as good as others are referenced and maybe that gets to be
too much too. Non fans and the less familiar will not be totally
lost watching this, but starting from the beginning is always best
for best effect.
Despite
a little motion blur here or there, the
1080p 1.78 X 1 digital High Definition image is consistent with the
previous sets, including good color range that is better than most
productions today. However, the
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mixes on each episode can be a
little underwhelming and could have better soundfields, or at least
more consistent ones.
Extras
include Digital HD Ultraviolet Copy for PC, PC portable and other
cyber iTunes capable devices, while the Blu-rays add a Gag Reel and
four Making Of featurettes including the 2017 Comic Con Panel, a BBT
History Of Time, The
Blueprint Of Comedy
and The Maturation Imperative.
Bye
Bye Germany
(2017) is a well produced German comedy/drama about a Holocaust
survivor whose on a mission to make it to America. Starring Antje
Traue and Moritiz Bleibtreu (Run
Lola Run),
the hilarious film reunites director Sam Garbarski with Bleibtreu for
more of their trademark cinematic magic after their hit film Vijay
and I
(2013) and others.
The
film also stars Tania Garbarski, Jeanne Werner, and Anna Konig to
name a few.
Presented
in standard definition with a widescreen aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and a
5.1 German lossy Dolby Digital audio mix with English subtitles (a
lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo mix is an option on the disc as well),
the film looks and sounds as good as it can on the DVD format. The
film is nicely shot and stylized with a high budget feel that would
be even better if it were on HD. Still, the soundtrack and mix here
is nice and aside from compression, it looks great.
Special
Features...
Bonus
Short Film: Strings
(Directed by Erin Morris)
Trailers
and
About Film Movement piece
Lewis
Milestone's Garden
Of Eden
(1928) is a restored silent film (released at the time by United
Artists, but no longer owned by them) that could have been a drama
about class division as a young baker gal (Corrine Griffith) can sing
and has a desire to try out for the big time, so she leaves Budapest
and goes for fame and fortune in Paris, France.
Of
course, it is not that simple as she is pushed around by the head of
a cabaret (Maude George) she works for, gets help from the place's
seamstress (Louise Dressler) and lands up with three men (Charles
Ray, Lowell Sherman and Edward Martindel) who she is not interested
in... save maybe one. Still could be a drama, but is a good silent
comedy at a wise 71 minutes that has a few good moments and I
surprisingly consistent and coherent, versus most comedies we've
suffered through lately on the site.
It
is nice to see another silent classic saved and Flicker Alley has
issued it on a quality Blu-ray for everyone to enjoy, though I had
reviewed this film years ago on DVD (elsewhere on this site) and was
more impressed then. Guess that was because seeing silent films
restored so well was less common then. These are also good actors
and it is a shame we did not see more of the, later, but cheers to
the Production Design by the legendary William Cameron Menzies. It
is the additional reason to see this film at least once and be glad
it was saved.
The
1080p 1.19 X 1 black & white digital High Definition image
transfer can show the age of the materials used of course, but it has
been painstaking restored as well as possible and looks pretty good
for tis 80th
Anniversary. The new instrumental music score is only offered here
in lossy
Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo by Robert Israel, that fits, but did not
stock with me. Too bad this was not at least PCM 2.0 Stereo.
Extras
include two stills sections: one of production still of the film from
Milestone's Estate and the other, images from the original pressbook,
plus the 10 minutes short Hollywood
The Unknown
(1927) that shows filmmaking of the time.
The
medical drama/comedy The
Good Karma Hospital
returns with a six episode second season (Series
Two
(2018) and
thanks in high fashion on Blu-ray disc thanks to RLJ and Acorn. The
show takes place in India and has some stunning locations and
cinematography and is an enjoyable program for what it aims to be.
The
show stars Amanda Redman, Amrita Acharia, Neil Morrissey, James
Floyd, and Sagar Radia to name a few. The show is complete with
chapter selections and three episodes per Blu-ray disc.
The
story centers around the young Ruby Walker (Acharia), a junior doctor
who learns from working hard in the field at a hospital in rural
India known as the Karma Hospital. Walker joins the hard-working
team of medics at the town's local hospital.
Presented
on 1080p Blu-ray disc with a widescreen aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and a
5.1 DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) lossless track, the presentation here is
crisp and perfect for the nature of the show. The image is clean and
crisp throughout, with no visible signs of artifacts or high end
compression. The skin textures and as adequate as can be expected
for 1080p and the colors are nicely saturated.
Special
Feature... a 30 minute Behind the Scenes Featurette
The
Good Karma Hospital
is a charming and interesting drama that is realistic in its
portrayal of both medical emergencies and human drama.
Finally
we have Mark Rydell's Harry
and Walter Go To New York
(1976), a comedy set in the Vaudeville era with George Segal and
James Caan as two stage performers who are also con artists looking
for a break.. or break in into a bank to rob it and stay on easy
street. Unfortunately, the cops know who they are when they can find
them and they have sophisticated competition in a sophisticated
gentleman robber (Michael Caine) who has similar banking plans.
Presented
here 111 minutes, the film was and is very uneven and does not add up
as it should, but we discover in this edition (though we get no
missing footage) that the film was cut down and recut because
Columbia Pictures was not impressed and tried to cut expected losses.
It may have been a self-fulfilling prophecy as it has some great
supporting actors (Carol Kane, Ted Cassidy, Diane Keaton, Charles
Durning, Val Avery, Leslie Ann Warren and Jack Gilford) with some of
them not getting enough screen time. At least in this problematic
studio cut.
Because
of this, Sony is licensing it to the Twilight Time label so it can be
one of their Limited Edition Blu-rays and that makes sense enough so
at least it is out there in the one form it always seems to have
been. Too bad we could not get two cuts, but maybe the cut footage I
lost forever. If you are a fan of these actors or comical
situations, you should see this one at least once and judge for
yourself. It had promise, but apparently the production went a
little out of control. Oh well.
The
1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer is dark and has
plenty of indoor shots to its disadvantage, especially when you have
a genius like
Director of Photography Laszlo Kovacs, A.S.C. (Easy
Rider,
What's
Up Doc?,
Five
Easy Pieces)
who absolutely knows how to shoot a comedy. The DTS-HD MA (Master
Audio) 2.0 Mono lossless mix is as good as it can get for an old
optical mono theatrical release of its time, though expect slight
distortion at times.
Extras
include a solid, nicely illustrated booklet on the film including
informative text and yet another excellent, underrated essay by the
great film scholar Julie Kirgo, while the Blu-ray adds a fine,
feature length audio commentary track by Lee Pfeiffer, Eddy Friedfeld
& Paul Scrabo, Isolated Music Score Track and Original Theatrical
Trailer.
To
order Harry
and Walter Go To New York
limited edition Blu-rays, buy it and other great releases while
supplies last at these links:
www.screenarchives.com
and
http://www.twilighttimemovies.com/
-
Nicholas Sheffo and James
Lockhart (Germany,
Karma)
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/
